Before buying it, i have no clue whether i'm a 38R or 40R, therefore as from the measurement that the seller provide I feel that the suit measurement is align with my shirt and just a tiny bit larger from my previous suit (0.5 larger in the chest, the shoulder is pretty much the same as well as the length of the suit.)
So I go for it... (this one is 40R, BB2)

After i got it and try on, the shoulder and chest fits fine imo, yet the waist is very roomy...

So I took it to the tailor and have him tapered the waist area as well as some excess clothes in the back shoulder area.

2 weeks pass by and I have received my suit back...when I first try it on, it was alright, but many of my friends had commented that it still look too large on me...

I went back to my tailor once again and as him whether he can taper the waist area further or not....he told me that it's not ideal to do that... and that it may ruin the suit balance...

Do you guys agree with him or do you think it is possible to trim it down a bit more and not ruining the balance of the suit.

I'm planning on ordering my first custom shirt from an online maker, and figured I would use my only good dress shirt for a baseline. Please tell me how the shirt should be altered and feel free to request additional info. I also would like to know if the shoulder seems are correctly placed on this shirt, and if the back seam should come so far forward. Thank you

I'm planning on ordering my first custom shirt from and online maker, and have decided to use my only good shirt as a baseline. Please indicate how the shirt should be altered and feel free to request additional information. I would also like to know if the shoulder seams are correctly placed on this shirt, and if the back seam (yoke) should come so far forward. Thank you

New suit, first time of wearing since receipt. Please excuse the rough shots. They were about the best I could do given that I'm running solo. Please also note that the shirt has not yet been washed or ironed, and I expect it will sit a little better under my sleeves once it's been through that process.

As far as the suit goes, I had initially donned it for this purpose as I thought it looked a little too boxy. I now think there's a few other issues such as leg length and too much material around my legs. And I can't quite put my finger on it but the jacket doesn't look quite right to me. And the suit has never been cleaned or pressed.

I'm standing a little awkwardly too. My apologies. I often look like I've got a stick up my bum. I hope I relax once the camera's gone. And I hope you can get what you need out of these photos to give me some direction on what if anything needs to change.

The fabric is Scabal Super 130's.

Oh and the pocket square is pretty rough as I've never used one before. I hope it didn't puff the chest out too much.

I just got a suit from Black Lapel and would very much appreciate recommendations for the remake. The jacket fits very well in many areas (in my opinion), so hopefully I can fix the current issues with your help.

The jacket:1. Obviously the shoulders are too large, but I am not sure whether to decrease by 0.25" or 0.5". Also, the construction of the shoulders just looks weird and uneven. Additionally, I did not notice until looking at pictures that I have a lower right shoulder, so I will specify that as well.2. Any ideas what's causing the folds at the back of the sleeves? I'm not sure if its related, I will probably increase the biceps size by 0.5" because it felt a bit tight.3. Looks like my right arm is longer than my left, so I need to shorten the left sleeve by 0.25”.

The pants:
Overall, the pants do not fit well and are unflattering. They are too large at the hips and thigh, and because they darted the pants in the front (and also possibly because of the pocket construction) the pants flare out at the sides. I'm also not sure what's going on in the front to make it look like I have a uhhh... you know what... trying to escape.

The third spoiler link shows pictures of pants that fit pretty well (except for needing a bit more room in the rear fork) for comparison. They are a full inch smaller in the front (measured seam to seam at the midpoint of the front pockets). My hip measurement is larger mostly due to my prominent seat, not as much so from wide hips, so hopefully there is a way to account for this in the pattern?

Also, below is a shirt I got from Modern Tailor. It fits pretty well except it bulges in the back at the armhole seam (see circles) and conversely is too tight at the front armhole seam on my shoulder. Why is it fitting like this? Does the armhole need to come forward laterally or be rotated forward?

I bought it last week for a ridiculously low price and it´s a new Hugo Boss suit.

The material is really nice and has a "pleasant touch", it´s 80% virgin wool (herringbone pattern). It´s very soft, hence the wrinkles (+ the fact that the waist is a bit loose)...

The question is whether the shoulders are within the limits of "normality" or they should be altered if possible, I´m quite uncertain about it whether it looks OK or not.

But I think the shoulder pad is a bit longer than it should be. This is possibly because I´ve got sloping shoulders, I don´t know.

I am aware of the fact that the waist should be also altered and the sleeves are a bit long too, however, those can be altered much easier.

What is your overall opinion about the suit? Oh and please don´t be too stern, I just want a good looking suit but I know it won´t be perfect.

Thanks for the feedback! :)

This is what bothers me the most, my right shoulder but maybe it´s not that terrible as I think :

Hard to say with these awkward pics but it looks like the back balance is a little too long and it's falling down in the back. Looks like you have fairly erect back posture. Altering the shoulders is not necessary. The biggest alteration would be rotating the sleeves forward slightly. Better pics would tell the whole story.

That's interesting. In theory, if I pull up on the back on my trousers, would I see the bunching go away?

Is the fix you suggest a moderate job, from the tailoring point of view? Is it worth trying to do with a good tailor? I have to say if I tilt my hip back,a bit (stomach forward, seat pushing slightly back), the bunching goes away, and I get a nice line in the seam down the back. So it feels like I'm nearly there, if only a tailor could fix the trousers!

A second question: for those of us with a bow leg where the bow is outward (so concavity on the inner side of leg), can a slim trouser be cut? I am partial right now to about a 8.25 inch cuff opening, beginning with a 33 waist and 32 inch inseam. A fuller leg, I suppose, would help cover the bowleg, but I find these often to be too "full" in the leg. Any happy medium? I also take it that OTR slim trousers can't be readjusted for this problem (sigh).

Thanks again.

The trick is to look at the folds. If they're horizontal below your seat, it's too long in the back rise. The fix is dropping the back of the waistband slighty. It's not as severe a fix as dropping the whole waistband. If the folds are vertical, it's too full in the stride. The fix there is taking in the back part of the inseam only which decreases the crotch curve length slightly and sucks the excess material in more towards your legs. If the folds are both horizontal and vertical, than it could be a little of both. If the material is riding up your you know what, the crotch curve in the back is not curved right and needs to be scooped out. From the sound it, it's probably just too long in the back rise. Dropping the waistband is the likely fix.

Before buying it, i have no clue whether i'm a 38R or 40R, therefore as from the measurement that the seller provide I feel that the suit measurement is align with my shirt and just a tiny bit larger from my previous suit (0.5 larger in the chest, the shoulder is pretty much the same as well as the length of the suit.)
So I go for it... (this one is 40R, BB2)

After i got it and try on, the shoulder and chest fits fine imo, yet the waist is very roomy...

So I took it to the tailor and have him tapered the waist area as well as some excess clothes in the back shoulder area.

2 weeks pass by and I have received my suit back...when I first try it on, it was alright, but many of my friends had commented that it still look too large on me...

I went back to my tailor once again and as him whether he can taper the waist area further or not....he told me that it's not ideal to do that... and that it may ruin the suit balance...

Do you guys agree with him or do you think it is possible to trim it down a bit more and not ruining the balance of the suit.

(please excuse my poor grammar and bad posture for the photo)

Thanks
P

It looks like it's looser in the front of the jacket. Messing with the back seams any more certainly can affect the balance, especially if it's the center back seam. I'd take in the darts in the front...that should do the trick.

It looks like it's looser in the front of the jacket. Messing with the back seams any more certainly can affect the balance, especially if it's the center back seam. I'd take in the darts in the front...that should do the trick.

Thank you so much for you recommendation sir.

I believe that my suit is a Sack one since there are no front darts...the only darts line that seems to be on the front piece of the suit are those that run through the front pocket....

Is it possible to take in through the side seams or a bit more at the 2 seams where the vent are?

Due to my curiosity...

Yesterday I took my suit jacket to another tailor that I normally have my shirts and trouser altered, which the result always extremely good.

Actually it's a chain tailor store so they do have suit alteration service as well.

At first she was going to take in the suit using the center back seam...but I remember from the forum suggestion not to let the tailor mess with that line...so I ask her to alter using the 2 back seams where the vents are.

Below are the photos when my tailor pin me my suit at the 2 back seams.

(Sorry for poor quality photo)

Do you think it looks weird? Personally I feel a bit odd with this look....so I call my tailor and put the process on hold...i'm going back to the store tomorrow....

Could anyone give me some feedback for future adjustments based upon the pictures below? Please note that I input the sleeve measurements incorrectly which is why they are so big - I will be having this corrected by a local tailor and never making the mistake again!

Apologies for the poor quality iPhone photos. If it's any help, my usual measurements are 40" chest and 31" waist.

I believe that my suit is a Sack one since there are no front darts...the only darts line that seems to be on the front piece of the suit are those that run through the front pocket....

Is it possible to take in through the side seams or a bit more at the 2 seams where the vent are?

Due to my curiosity...

Yesterday I took my suit jacket to another tailor that I normally have my shirts and trouser altered, which the result always extremely good.

Actually it's a chain tailor store so they do have suit alteration service as well.

At first she was going to take in the suit using the center back seam...but I remember from the forum suggestion not to let the tailor mess with that line...so I ask her to alter using the 2 back seams where the vents are.

Below are the photos when my tailor pin me my suit at the 2 back seams.

(Sorry for poor quality photo)

Do you think it looks weird? Personally I feel a bit odd with this look....so I call my tailor and put the process on hold...i'm going back to the store tomorrow....

Would love to hear your further suggestion on it.

Many thanks,
P

If it's a sack suit, it's not going to have great shape at the front, anyway. You can take too much out of the side seams in a jacket causing those seams to become overworked. It has to do with grain of the fabric. The more you take those seams in, the more off-grain you get back there. Ideally, a well-tailored suit is perfectly on grain where ever it needs to be. Things lay funny when they're off-grain or on the bias. You may not fully understand what I'm saying, but this is the problems when taking those seams in too much. Also, if it's really loose in the front, overworking those back seams just pulls the garment backwards making it fit tightly in the back. Then you'll be fighting the jacket as you wear it, especially if you've got forward pitched posture. The tailor can also take in the side seams at the forepart of the jacket only. This will take fullness out of the front of the jacket only.

You can suppress the dart under the arm, but not alot. If there's looseness at the bottom below the buttoning point, the supression technically has to occur by taking apart the pocket. Probably more of a hassle than a benefit and a lot more money.

Lastly, I sometimes add a dart directly behind the underarm dart that is pretty well hidden by your arm. This puts shape right at your side and also takes out some of the girth from the front of the jacket. For most tailors, however, this is outside the box thinking.

And a tailoring chain store...? I didn't know the skill was common enough to franchise. Interesting..

If it's a sack suit, it's not going to have great shape at the front, anyway. You can take too much out of the side seams in a jacket causing those seams to become overworked. It has to do with grain of the fabric. The more you take those seams in, the more off-grain you get back there. Ideally, a well-tailored suit is perfectly on grain where ever it needs to be. Things lay funny when they're off-grain or on the bias. You may not fully understand what I'm saying, but this is the problems when taking those seams in too much. Also, if it's really loose in the front, overworking those back seams just pulls the garment backwards making it fit tightly in the back. Then you'll be fighting the jacket as you wear it, especially if you've got forward pitched posture. The tailor can also take in the side seams at the forepart of the jacket only. This will take fullness out of the front of the jacket only.
You can suppress the dart under the arm, but not alot. If there's looseness at the bottom below the buttoning point, the supression technically has to occur by taking apart the pocket. Probably more of a hassle than a benefit and a lot more money.
Lastly, I sometimes add a dart directly behind the underarm dart that is pretty well hidden by your arm. This puts shape right at your side and also takes out some of the girth from the front of the jacket. For most tailors, however, this is outside the box thinking.
And a tailoring chain store...? I didn't know the skill was common enough to franchise. Interesting..

Thank you so much for your input sir. I'm deeply appreciated.

And yes I didn't quite understand everything there, but I have some idea of what I should do next...

So far I believe that the previous tailor had taken in around 0.5 inches from original measurement around the waist area...

I might try 0.5-0.75 inches more at the 2 back seams or I might ask for the alteration to happen at the side seam just to make it wrapping my body a bit more...

About the tailoring chain store, maybe i'm using the wrong word...

What they did is in each major mall in Bangkok (i'm from Thailand) they have 1 store to collect clothes from their customers.
Each store will have 1 quite experienced staff who will give suggestion on what should and shouldn't be altered.
Then they will send all the clothes to the factory which is actually where the clothes will be altered.
At the factory, there will be only 1 tailor for each type of garment alteration. For example 1 tailor who will take care of altering suit, 1 for shirt, 1 for women dress, 1 for pants, etc...

I'm planning on ordering my first custom shirt from and online maker, and have decided to use my only good shirt as a baseline. Please indicate how the shirt should be altered and feel free to request additional information. I would also like to know if the shoulder seams are correctly placed on this shirt, and if the back seam (yoke) should come so far forward. Thank you

Sleeves seem too long and there is that excess cloth at the back - apart from that, a good start

Could anyone give me some feedback for future adjustments based upon the pictures below? Please note that I input the sleeve measurements incorrectly which is why they are so big - I will be having this corrected by a local tailor and never making the mistake again!

Apologies for the poor quality iPhone photos. If it's any help, my usual measurements are 40" chest and 31" waist.

Thanks

I`d live with that one, and maybe fine tune in future...but not bad at all...